Aircraft pilots & flight engineers

Add Comparison

Total Workforce

186k

Average Age

44.2

Average Salary

$142,471

Average Male Salary

$144,718

Average Female Salary

$107,831

About

Aircraft pilots & flight engineers are most often employed by the Air transportation industry. The average yearly wage for Aircraft pilots & flight engineers was $142,471 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Aircraft pilots & flight engineers by wage are Nuclear medicine technologists and medical dosimetrists, Personal financial advisors, and Petroleum, mining & geological engineers, including mining safety engineers.

Aircraft pilots & flight engineers are part of the Transportation Occupations, along with Supervisors of transportation & material moving workers, Aircraft pilots & flight engineers, Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists, Flight attendants, Ambulance drivers & attendants, except emergency medical technicians, and 17 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Aircraft pilots & flight engineers are Coffee, Covington, Butler & Crenshaw Counties PUMA, AL, Anchorage Municipality (South) PUMA, AK, and Dothan City PUMA, AL. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Aircraft pilots & flight engineers are Coffee, Covington, Butler & Crenshaw Counties PUMA, AL, Central Southeast New Mexico PUMA, NM, and Dothan City PUMA, AL.

Photo by Alexander Mueller

Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations Transportation & Material Moving Occupations Transportation Occupations

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Aircraft pilots & flight engineers and on wages and locations for those in the field. Air transportation is the industry that employs the most Aircraft pilots & flight engineers, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Aircraft pilots & flight engineers, by average wage, is Couriers & messengers. Aircraft pilots & flight engineers are paid most in Colorado Springs City (North) & Monument Town PUMA, CO but are relatively concentrated in Coffee, Covington, Butler & Crenshaw Counties PUMA, AL.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$142,471

AVERAGE SALARY

± $7,114

In 2018, Aircraft pilots & flight engineers earned an average of $142,471, $88,583 more than than the average national salary of $53,888.

Nuclear medicine technologists and medical dosimetrists make somewhat more than Aircraft pilots & flight engineers while Petroleum, mining & geological engineers, including mining safety engineers make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Aircraft pilots & flight engineers as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.411

WAGE GINI

In 2018, Aircraft pilots & flight engineers had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.411, which is lower than than the national average of 0.479. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Aircraft pilots & flight engineers (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Aircraft pilots & flight engineers.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Aircraft pilots & flight engineers

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Aircraft pilots & flight engineers.

Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Aircraft pilots & flight engineers, by number of employees, are Air transportation, U. S. Air Force, and National security & international affairs.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Aircraft pilots & flight engineers, by average wage, are Couriers & messengers, Couriers & messengers, Other schools & instruction and educational support services, Air transportation, Air transportation, and Elementary & secondary schools.

Industries by Share

186k

2018 Workforce

± 10,594

13.2%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 7.33%

The number of people employed as Aircraft pilots & flight engineers has been growing at a rate of 13.2%, from 164,737 people in 2017 to 186,435 people in 2018.

This graphic shows the share of Aircraft pilots & flight engineers employed by various industries. Air transportation employs the largest share of Aircraft pilots & flight engineers at 58.8%, followed by U. S. Air Force with 6.44% and National security & international affairs with 6.09%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Aircraft pilots & flight engineers in the US. The average age of male Aircraft pilots & flight engineers in the workforce is 44.4 and of female Aircraft pilots & flight engineers is 40, and the most common race/ethnicity for Aircraft pilots & flight engineers is White (Non-Hispanic).

Gender Composition

175k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 10,267

11.4k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 2,617

93.9% of Aircraft pilots & flight engineers are Male, making them the more common gender in the occupation. This chart shows the gender breakdown of Aircraft pilots & flight engineers.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Aircraft pilots & flight engineers

White (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)
Two or More Races (Non-Hispanic)

85.8% of Aircraft pilots & flight engineers are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 6.2% of Aircraft pilots & flight engineers, White (Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Aircraft pilots & flight engineers.

Age by Gender

44.4

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.737

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 2.73

The median age of Aircraft pilots & flight engineers is 44.2, and Male employees are generally 4.44 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Aircraft pilots & flight engineers from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Aircraft pilots & flight engineers is Transportation but a relatively high number of Aircraft pilots & flight engineers hold a major in Transportation.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degree-majorss. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree-majors obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Aircraft pilots & flight engineers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Aircraft pilots & flight engineers need many skills, but most especially Operation and Control. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Aircraft pilots & flight engineers need more than the average amount of Operation and Control, Science, and Operation Monitoring.